Executive Summary of the Task Force's 2015-2020 Strategic Plan available for download here:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Strategic Plan   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Executive Summary

 

The Arizona Statewide Task Force on Preventing Prenatal Exposure to Alcohol and Other Drugs has completed a five-year Strategic Plan that will work to inform policy and impact program and practice across the state related to the prevention of prenatal exposure to alcohol and drugs and service provision for substance-exposed newborns (SEN).

 

The Problem

 

SUBSTANCE USE BY PREGNANT WOMEN IS A LEADING PREVENTABLE CAUSE OF MENTAL, PHYSICAL, AND PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEMS IN INFANTS AND CHILDREN, WITH ALCOHOL USE BEING THE LEADING KNOWN PREVENTABLE CAUSE OF MENTAL RETARDATION. CURRENT CONSUMPTION DATA ILLUSTRATES THAT AN UNACCEPTABLY HIGH NUMBER OF WOMEN OF REPRODUCTIVE AGE IN ARIZONA ARE USING SUBSTANCES AND HAVING SEXUAL ENCOUNTERS -- NOT AWARE OF THE LONG-TERM CONSEQUENCES.

 

 

In 2013, a total of 1,758 children under the age of one were discharged from the hospital or emergency department with a billable diagnostic code indicating drug exposure. From 2008-2013, the number of newborns with narcotics in their system rose 205%. During this period babies born with fetal alcohol syndrome increased 9%.

 

 

Significant underreporting

Health care and maternal child health professionals agree that Arizona’s rates of prenatal exposure are significantly under-reported due to a number of factors including lack of uniform medical coding and the need for medical provider education in early identification. A recent research study in a Midwestern city reinforces this finding, uncovering a prevalence of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS) and Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) among 1st grade youth of between 6 and 9 children per 1,000 and 24 and 48 per 1,000 children, respectively, far greater than existing prevalence estimates.

 

 

Lack of coordinated care across the life span

Without a clinical diagnosis, school and community services cannot be easily accessed by families, advocates, or professionals involved in the care of school-aged children who exhibit disorders associated with prenatal alcohol and/or drug exposure. 

 

 

How the Task Force is addressing the issues

Over the next five years, the Arizona Statewide Task Force on Preventing Prenatal Exposure to Alcohol and Other Drugs will focus efforts toward the following five achievable goals:

 

2015-2020 GOALS

 

Goal 1:  Work with providers and stakeholders to appropriately identify substance exposed newborns in an effort                    to obtain a more accurate baseline of the incidence of SEN.

 

 

Goal 2:  Raise awareness and understanding of the risks and effects of prenatal exposure to alcohol and other                        drugs for families and communities.

 

 

Goal 3:  Create optimal opportunity for engagement in effective interventions and services for all women of                              reproductive age in Arizona.

 

 

Goal 4:  Promote successful outcomes for those individuals affected by SEN in Arizona. 

 

 

Goal 5:  Strengthen the Task Force and elevate its standing so it can better carry out its mission and achieve its                      goals. 

 

 

Cross-Cutting Strategies

Data-driven planning efforts by contributing Task Force members zeroed in on six key strategies that will encompass efforts across policy, program, and practice – identified as the best-practice approaches for maximum impact by an SEN Task Force.  

 

Strategy one:         Use the health plan to improve screening and identification of pregnant women using substances.                                         Activities conducted over a timeframe of six months to two years will focus on improving health care                                    practice in screening and early identification of substance use and/or trauma exposure in women of                                      reproductive age.

 

Strategy two:         Create a prevention messaging campaign to raise awareness and understanding of the risks and                                            effects of prenatal exposure to alcohol and other drugs. Activities conducted over a timeframe of six                                      months to five years will involve Task Force efforts to create and disseminate more targeted                                                    messaging about prenatal exposure prevention to various domains of influence, including schools,                                        medical providers, as well as target groups such as teens, grandparents and foster parents. 

 

Strategy three:       Expand Task Force membership and representation to impact public policy and system approaches.                                     Activities conducted primarily over the next six months will focus on enhancing Task Force reach                                          through membership and involvement in and from new sectors and identification of champion                                                legislators.

 

Strategy four:         Pursue a meaningful policy agenda that creates the foundation for future strategic efforts. Mid- and                                      long-range activities will focus on advocacy for inclusion of SEN data in other agency data collection                                    systems, and for statewide Medicaid reimbursement of Screening, Brief Intervention and Referral to                                      Treatment (SBIRT).

 

Strategy five:          Develop visual schematics that demonstrate services for substance-exposed individuals across the                                      lifespan. Activities over the next six months will involve Task Force member development of visual                                        diagrams for various target audiences (physicians, schools, parents and caregivers) that demonstrate                                  the optimal flow of services for substance-exposed youth across the lifespan.

 

Strategy six:           Identify resources to support strategic Task Force efforts. Immediate and mid-term efforts by the                                            Task Force will focus on identifying areas of resource development (both cash and in-kind) for SEN                                      prevention messaging.